Perkins v. State ( 2015 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
LEON K. PERKINS, §
§ No. 648, 2014
Defendant Below, §
Appellant, § Court Below: Superior Court
§ of the State of Delaware in and
v. § for New Castle County
§
STATE OF DELAWARE, §
§
Plaintiff Below, § Cr. ID No. 0212008942
Appellee. §
Submitted: December 3, 2014
Decided: January 13, 2015
Before STRINE, Chief Justice, HOLLAND and VALIHURA, Justices.
ORDER
This 13th day of January 2015, upon consideration of the notice to
show cause and the appellant’s response, it appears to the Court that:
(1) In 2005, the appellant, Leon K. Perkins, was convicted of
Murder in the First Degree and related weapon offenses and was sentenced
to mandatory life imprisonment plus sixteen years. On direct appeal, this
Court affirmed Perkins’ convictions and sentence.1 In 2008, the Court
1
Perkins v. State, 920 A.2d 391 (Del. 2007).
affirmed the denial of Perkins’ motion for postconviction relief under
Superior Court Criminal Rule 61.2
(2) Perkins has appealed the Superior Court’s November 5, 2014
order denying his motion for appointment of counsel. By notice dated
November 24, 2014, the Clerk directed that Perkins show cause under
Supreme Court Rule 29(b) why the appeal should not be dismissed for this
Court’s lack of jurisdiction to entertain an interlocutory appeal in a criminal
matter.3
(3) In his December 3, 2014 response to the notice to show cause,
Perkins states that he is entitled to the appointment of counsel to pursue
further postconviction remedies. Perkins argues that, under the Delaware
Constitution, this Court has jurisdiction to determine all appeals from the
Superior Court in criminal cases, including his appeal from the Superior
Court’s November 5, 2014 order denying his motion for appointment of
counsel.
(4) Perkins is mistaken. Under the Delaware Constitution only a
final judgment may be reviewed by the Court in a criminal case.4 In this
2
State v. Perkins, 2008 WL 2406231 (Del. Super. June 11, 2008), aff'd, 2008 WL
5191831 (Del. Dec. 11, 2008).
3
See Del. Supr. Ct. R. 29(b) (governing involuntary dismissal upon notice of the Court).
4
Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(1)(b); State v. Cooley, 430 A.2d 789, 791 (Del. 1981).
2
case, the Superior Court’s November 5, 2014 order denying Perkins’ motion
for appointment of counsel is an interlocutory order.5 The denial of Perkins’
motion is not appealable as a collateral order before the entry of a final order
on a motion for postconviction relief.6
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule
29(b), that the appeal is DISMISSED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Leo E. Strine, Jr.
Chief Justice
5
Accord Lopez v. State, 2014 WL 3586494 (Del. July 21, 2014); Harris v. State, 2013
WL 4858990 (Del. Sept. 10, 2013); Brown v. State, 2012 WL 4466314 (Del. Sept. 26,
2012) (dismissing appeals from Superior Court orders denying appointment of counsel as
impermissible criminal interlocutory appeals).
6
See St. Louis v. State, 2012 WL 130877 (Del. Jan. 17, 2012) (citing Robinson v. State,
704 A.2d 269, 271 (Del. 1998)).
3